The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is the complete story of Ryūnosuke Naruhodō, the ancestor of the legendary Phoenix Wright. It takes the classic Ace Attorney formula and throws it into the late 19th century, following Runo as he finds his footing as a rookie defense attorney between Japan and Victorian London. Everything slowly builds toward one huge payoff with cases, characters and little details connecting in ways that make the final stretch incredibly satisfying courtrooms feel fresh again, investigations have a different vibe and the historical backdrop gives every case its own identity.

One of the biggest reasons people love these games is its cast. Ryūnosuke grows naturally over the course of the story instead of instantly becoming a courtroom genius while Susato, Herlock Sholmes, Iris and the rest of the crew constantly steal the spotlight with their funny interactions. The localization deserves a ton of credit too, since the dialogue keeps all the charm, absurd humor and ridiculous energy the series is known for. Character animations are easily the best in the series which makes sense since it's the last game in the franchise not counting the collections. CAPCOM bring this franchise back, goddammit!

Gameplay stays familiar if you've played Ace Attorney before but it throws in enough new ideas to keep things interesting. Investigations are more interactive, the dances of deduction are clever and the courtroom now involves multiple witnesses and jurors that force you to pay attention in different ways instead of simply waiting for contradictions. None of those additions reinvent the formula but they make each trial feel more dynamic without losing the satisfying moments the series lives for.

The one complaint I've seen is the pacing, Chronicles love taking its time, sometimes a little too much. Conversations can stretch longer than necessary, investigations occasionally circle around the same point and the first half especially asks for a fair bit of patience before everything clicks into place. Even fans that call it the best entries in the franchise admit there were moments where they wished the dialogue moved faster. Anyway, most Ace Attorney players are used to reading a lot, so it won't be a big deal, and people agree the slow burn pays off once all the pieces finally come together, making earlier scenes feel way more meaningful in hindsight.

Download

The trial's about to begin, the defense is ready, so all that's left is presenting the evidence. If you want the easiest route, grab the prepatched English version and you're good to go, nothing else is required. If you'd rather experience every inch of the game yourself and don't mind a few things remaining in Japanese, install the base game first, then both the English patched updates and DLC. Just keep in mind those patches aren't really meant for the prepatched English version since they were built around different translations.

Base game

Prepatched base game

English patched update

English patched DLC

As for The Great Ace Attorney 2 - Resolve - the procedure is no different. Download the base game first, then follow it up with the English patched updates and DLC. Case closed.

 

Base game

English patched update

English patched DLC